Obtaining individual study arrangements

The term 'special arrangements' has been replaced with the term 'individual study arrangements' as of 1.8.2022. The proposals for special arrangements that have been issued before 1.8. will remain in force as such.

Contents of this page:

• Who is eligible for individual study arrangements?
• What kind of individual study arrangements can be made?
• How to request a Proposal for Individual Study Arrangements?
• Agreeing on individual study arrangements with the teacher
• Feedback survey for students with a Proposal for Individual Study Arrangements
• The Proposals for Special Arrangements issued by Tampere University of Technology or University of Tampere

Who is eligible for individual study arrangements (former special arrangements)?

You are eligible for individual study arrangements, when

• you are a neurodivergent student (ADHD/ADD/autism)
• you have been diagnosed with a learning difficulty
• you have been diagnosed with an illness
• you have been  diagnosed with mental health issues
• you have been diagnosed with a disablity or other medical condition that affects your ability to demonstrate and undertake learning

You need to have an expert statement about your condition. It could be a statement from a doctor, psychologist, special needs teacher, therapist or other health professional, or a note or statement from OmaKanta. The statement does not have to be written specifically for individual arrangements.

Individual study arrangements are available to all student groups (e.g. degree students, Open University students, exchange students, students pursuing cross-institutional studies, students with the JOO study right).

Flexibility and individual arrangements may also be possible, for example due to a momentary challenging life situation, short-term illness, etc., by negotiating directly with the teacher. In this case, a separate Proposal for Individual Study Arrangements will not be written but you can contact the teacher directly.

What kind of individual study arrangements can be made?

Individual study arrangements are, as their name indicates, individual and depend on the needs of the student.

The arrangements are also tailored to the learning outcomes of the course and the degree programme. Therefore, they can be implemented differently on different courses. The types of individual study arrangements include, for example:

• extra time in exams
• a quiet or private space for completing an exam,
• extra time for assignments or flexibility in deadlines
• completing assignments in parts
• alternative methods of completion (e.g., a written assignment instead of an exam, or an oral assignment instead of a written one)
• forms of support for presentations or group work
• extended loan period for course books

Individual study arrangements may not undermine academic standards or the integrity of assessments, but they are provided to help students achieve the expected learning outcomes.

Only highly exceptional circumstances would justify a departure from the standard degree structure or course learning outcomes; the decision to grant this type of adjustment would have to be made by the student’s faculty.

How to request A Proposal for Individual Study Arrangements?

If you need individual study arrangements, or would like to discuss the possibility, book and appointment:

• from our online calendar: on-campus appointment or online appointment
• or by emailing studentcounselling.tau [at] tuni.ficlass="spamspan"

Please note that the online calendar only shows available time slots in the next three weeks. If you can't see any available time slots, try again the next day.

Bring a medical certificate or other expert statement with you to the appointment. If the appointment is online, you can show your medical certificate / other excpert statement by sharing your screen or using the camera on your device. Do not send the statement by email.

The appointment will be conducted confidentially to discuss your studies, needs, and possible individual study arrangements.

You will receive a written Proposal for Individual Study Arrangements, which lists potential arrangements that teachers could put in place for you.

The proposal will also state its validity period (valid indefinitely / for a fixed period of time). The proposal is confidential.

The proposal is signed by using digital signature service (read more about TUNI Sign on intranet). You will receive the proposal right after signing.

The proposals for individual study arrangements will be stored in the university's electronic archiving system and deleted no later than 10 years after the form is written. Data concerning a student’s health is confidential (Act on the Openness of Government Activities 21.5.1999/621, Section 24). Information about the individual study arrangements that you have been granted will not appear in your academic records or degree certificate.

Specialists

Elisa Sinikallio, education specialist, accessibility contact person
Online appointments (Microsoft Teams)
Appointments on Hervanta campus
Room: PA210, Main building, Hervanta campus

Sanna-Mari Mertaniemi, coordinator
Online appointments (Microsoft Teams)
Appointments on City Centre Campus
Room: A112, Main building, City centre campus

Agreeing on individual study arrangements with the teacher

You'll receive the document after the appointment. Information about the proposal or your need for arrangements will not be sent to teaching staff.

When you need arrangements on a course, contact the teacher and present your Proposal for Individual Study Arrangements to them. The teacher makes the decision about the type of arrangements that may be put in place.

The arrangements are always tailored to the learning outcomes of the course. The teacher will strive to ensure that all students have equal opportunities to undertake and demonstrate learning, as far as reasonably practicable.

Always present the proposal to the teacher before the start of the course or as early as possible on the course. This way there is enough time to put the necessary arrangements in place. Don't present your medical certificate / other expert statement to the teacher.

If you are dissatisfied with the decision a teacher makes about your individual study arrangements, you can contact the head of study services in your faculty (Guidance and counselling services in faculties: contact information). In addition, you can always ask for help from the specialist who wrote your proposal.

Individual arrangements in exams

Practices for requesting individual arrangements for exams vary depending on whether it is a general paper-based exam, an electronic exam or another type of exam. Arrangements must always be agreed well in advance.

You can find more detailed instructions here: Individual arrangements in exams.

Online teaching

If the teaching is online, we recommend you ask your teacher for a private Teams meeting where you can show the teacher your proposal for individual study arrangements and agree on how the arrangements will be put in place. You may also send your proposal to the teacher via encrypted email. Note that in this case the teacher gets a copy of your proposal. We instruct the teachers that they must not keep the copy of the proposal, but they must delete it from their email.

Feedback survey for students with a proposal for individual study arrangements

Share your experiences of using a Proposal for Individual Study Arrangements, and how well the proposed arrangements have been put in place. You may also give general feedback on the individual study arrangements policy.

Fill out the survey here anytime: Feedback survey for students with a proposal for individual study arrangements (special arrangements) (O356 Forms).

The Proposals for Special Arrangements issued by Tampere University of Technology or University of Tampere

The Proposals for Special Arrangements that have been issued by Tampere University of Technology or University of Tampere before 1 January 2019 will remain in force at the current Tampere University.